Pencil Pusher

Pencil Pusher

The machine, looking a bit like a three-hole punch crossed with an electric pencil sharpener, was a finalist in the 2010 Lite-On Awards, an international competition that seeks to stimulate and nurture innovation. The pencil-making gadget works, by you inserting wastepaper into a feed slot. The machine draws the paper in, rolls and compresses it, and then inserts a piece of lead from a storage chamber located in the top of the device. A small amount of glue is added before voilà, a pencil slides out from a hole on the side. It’s not clear how many pieces of paper form a single pencil, but you figure the average office worker could generate a decent supply of pencils in a month.